Nitish counters PM on RTI Act
New Delhi, October 15
A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh advocated critical review of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Bihar Chief Minister and NDA stalwart Nitish Kumar came out in strong defence of the law, saying it had served well to strengthen policy making processes and needed to be strengthened further.

MANY MOODS OF DIDI: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee during a rally
at Jhargram in west Midnapur on Saturday. — PTI

Yeddyurappa’s arrest latest jolt to Advani’s rath yatra
New Delhi, October 15
Bharatiya Janata Party strongman LK Advani’s ambitious Jan Chetna Yatra, which has been troubled by snags right at the outset, suffered another jolt with the arrest of party leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on Saturday.

Rahul special guest at Royal reception
Thimphu, October 15
Bhutan's newly-wed Royal couple joined thousands of people today, singing, dancing and graciously accepting their greetings as celebrations continued to mark their fairytale wedding at a reception hosted by the Royal Army, an event where Rahul Gandhi was the special guest.

Rahul Gandhi and Union Minister
Jyotiraditya Scindia with members of the Royal family in Bhutan. — PTI

Bodos revive demand for separate state
Dhekiajuli (North Assam), October 15
As the Telangana cauldron simmers again, the Bodo tribe community in the North-East has revived its long-standing demand for a separate state to be carved out of Assam.

brothers in
arms: Members of the Bodo community hold a rally demanding a separate state to be
carved out of Assam, at Dhekiajuli in the state’s north on Saturday. Photo by writer

Maya govt hints at role of Cong in bridge collapse
Lucknow, October 15
Politics over development in Bundelkhand warmed up today when the PWD Department hinted at Congress’ role in the collapse of an under-construction bridge on Banda bypass. The bridge over Kariya Nullah, being built at the cost of Rs 1.96 crore, had partially collapsed hours after a Congress team visited it on October 12.

Sonia to decide Arunachal’s leader
Itanagar, October 15
To end the ongoing political turmoil in Arunachal Pradesh over the change of leadership in the state, Chief Minister Jarbom Gamlin and dissident leader Nabam Tuki today authorised Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to take the final call on the issue.

Life goes for a toss in Telangana belt
Hyderabad, October 15
Be it a home maker, industrialist, street vendor or a student, every section of the society is feeling the heat of the indefinite general strike in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh in support of the statehood cause.

Pro-Telangana women activists sit along a railway track at the Secunderabad railway station on Day 1 of their
three-day rail roko in Hyderabad on Saturday. — PTI

India set to expand security
footprint in nearby islands
New Delhi, October 15
India has planned a major expansion of its security footprint in the islands that dot the Indian Ocean. New Delhi has rolled out a long-term plan, sources said while adding that this would include setting up of a chain of radars in Maldives and Seychelles while work is already on a similar project in Mauritius.

Pune land scam: SC rejects Manohar Joshi’s plea
New Delhi, October 15
Rejecting former Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi’s plea, the Supreme Court has endorsed the “strictures” passed against him by the Bombay High Court for his involvement in a land scam in Pune when he was heading the state government from March 1995 to January 1999.

Bhatt case: HC restrains arrest of lawyer who prepared affidavit
Ahmedabad, October 15
Gujarat High Court has restrained the police till Monday from arresting a lawyer who had prepared an affidavit in the Sanjiv Bhatt case.
Advocate VH Kanara had prepared the affidavit of Constable KD Pant, in which the latter alleged that Bhatt made him sign by force. Bhatt has been arrested in the case and is in jail after Pant had filed an FIR against him.

China on mind, India to up its Navy strength
New Delhi, October 14
Faced with a rapidly growing Chinese aggressiveness in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi will increase the manpower strength of its Navy by 15 per cent in the next few years. At present, the Navy has strength of 58,000, including 8,000 officers.

SC: Child welfare officer a must in police stations
New Delhi, October 15
The Supreme Court has directed the Home Department and the Director General of Police in every state and Union Territory to have a juvenile or child welfare officer in each police station to handle crime cases involving minors.

Diwali terror plot tip of iceberg, says
Antony
New Delhi, October 15
Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Saturday termed the foiled terror plot
to bomb Delhi during Diwali, unearthed with the seizure of five kg
explosives in Ambala two days ago, as the "tip of the iceberg"
and called for vigil due to the prevailing "sensitive and
delicate" security situation.

Activists and supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals stage a demonstration to urge the Ministry of Environment and Forest to pass the new draft Animal Welfare Act in New Delhi on Saturday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

Vodafone fines pesky callers
New Delhi, October 15
In a first action of its kind since the new regulations on telemarketing calls came into force last month, mobile phone operator Vodafone has penalised telemarketing companies for making unsolicited calls to its subscribers. The telecom operators has also deposited a sum of Rs 50,000 with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) which it had collected as fine from the pesky call makers. A statement issued by the telecom sector regulator said, “TRAI is monitoring and enforcing the regulations for protection of customers from unsolicited commercial calls and
SMSes. In this regard, Vodafone penalised the first batch of telemarketers by deducting the penalty from their security deposits on October 12.

Nitish counters PM on RTI Act
Says it improves policy making and must be allowed to evolve
Calls for enhancing scope of the Act to cover corporates, PPPsAditi Tandon/TNS

New Delhi, October 15
A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh advocated critical review of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Bihar Chief Minister and NDA stalwart Nitish Kumar came out in strong defence of the law, saying it had served well to strengthen policy making processes and needed to be strengthened further.

As against any move to shrink the ambit of the law, Nitish called for enhancing its scope to cover corporates and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and recommended an advisory council of RTI activists at the Central and state levels along with an amendment to the RTI Act to relax the upper age limit for recruitment of Information Commissioners, currently capped at 65 years. His justification: "Who ages at 65 these days?"

On PM's concerns around vexatious demands for information and the apprehensions of public servants that the law was preventing them from fully voicing their views on policy matters, Nitish was not agreeable and said the RTI Act had strengthened governments and was still evolving. He said he saw nothing wrong or wanting in the Act as it was today.

"I didn't quite comprehend what the PM meant. In my opinion, the law has done well to bring transparency into our deliberative processes. Today we are conscious that our decisions are under public scrutiny. To that extent, the Act has made governments accountable. What's the problem in sharing with the people the process that led to the evolution of a policy? The only thing we need to do about the RTI law is - strengthen it," Nitish told The Tribune on the sidelines of the concluding session of the annual convention of Central Information Commission.

The Bihar CM also went out of his way to seek accountability of private players by asking the Centre to amend the RTI Act to cover corporates and PPP projects. "People invest in shares. Sometimes they lose their money and governments have to offer stimulus to industries. PPPs also involve public money. These bodies must be covered," he said in the valedictory address, also calling for national replication of Bihar's "Jankari Call Centre" project wherein telephone based RTI queries are accepted. So far this year, Jankari has received 97,000 queries. "If a poor state can make a success of the system, why can't the Centre replicate it nationally," he asked, seeking a Central law on the Right to Service as well.

Overall, Nitish made a strong political pitch for the RTI Act at a time when some Central Ministers have been seeking its amendments in the light of recent disclosures in the 2G scam. The Bihar CM dared the Centre and other states when he said, "What is wrong if all political decisions, details of every project and scheme are placed on website?"

Bihar will soon disclose the entire information every public authority is required to disclose under Section 4 of the RTI Act. "We are in the final stages. We will put everything on the website," Nitish said.

Bihar to host national RTI convention

The Bihar CM on Saturday offered to host a national RTI convention in the state and Chief Information Commissioner Satyanadna Mishra accepted the invitation. The Convention will be open to national and international RTI experts and information commissioners.

Kolkata, October 15
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today gave seven days’ deadline to the Maoists for surrendering their arms. Afterwards, she would ask the joint action force for re-launching massive operation in Jangalmahal, Lalghar and other vulnerable areas for freeing these places from the clutches of the Maoists.

"I am giving you (Maoists) a seven-day ultimatum to lay down guns. Think over it. We will not tolerate any more violence. Killings and negotiations cannot go hand in hand," she said.

The Chief Minister was addressing a massive rally at the Jhargram stadium today, where she announced state government’s several development programmes for the neglected and backwards areas in west Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura. The projects worth Rs 5,000 crore include better health and sanitation, housing, food and rationing, primary and secondary education, employment, agriculture and irrigation and other development works will be completed within one year.

Asking the Maoists what they wanted, Mamata said, "Tell me what you want? We will give you schools, colleges, roads, jobs...everything...The door for dialogue is still open. We want a solution through negotiations, but we will not tolerate any more violence."

Daring Maoists to come into the open instead of indulging in killings under the cover of darkness, she said, “You want to kill Mamata Banerjee? Tell me where you want to kill me. There will be no policemen with me.”

She asked the local people, irrespective of their caste, creed and ideological and political differences, to jointly start operation against the Maoists for restoring peace and normalcy in Jangalmahal, Jhargram and other areas.

Mamata said people in the Maoists-infiltrated Jangalmahal, Lalghar and Jhargram areas had welcomed the government’s decision for launching massive development works in their areas. But a section of the Maoists, whom she called the jungle mafia, and the professional killers were trying to disturb the peace and progress move in these areas, she alleged. She warned either they should immediately stop their criminal activities or they would be firmly dealt with.

Mamata said for the last four months, since her government had taken over, the joint action force had been kept confined at the barracks for facilitating the Maoists in the peace talk process with the government.

Mamata said the Maoists would be given seven days for surrendering their arms and coming to the negotiating table. Afterwards, she would ask the joint action force to come out from the barracks and re-launch massive offensive against those killers and jungle-mafias in Janglamahal, Lalghar and elsewhere.

New Delhi, October 15
Bharatiya Janata Party strongman LK Advani’s ambitious Jan Chetna
Yatra, which has been troubled by snags right at the outset, suffered another jolt with the arrest of party leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa on Saturday.

Yeddyurappa’s arrest is the latest setback for Advani, who, through his
yatra, plans to paint the Congress and the UPA government as corrupt and highlight his party’s
(BJP) clean image.

Only yesterday, Advani had at a public meeting in Unmaria (MP) disdainfully said that the day was not far when the Union Cabinet would hold a meeting in the Tihar jail, hinting at the imminent arrest of Home Minister P Chidambaram and even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the 2G Spectrum scam. While former Telecom Minister A Raja and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi are already in jail in connection with the scam, Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi is behind bars for allegedly misappropriating Commonwealth Games funds.

Interestingly, Advani faced a hard time yesterday when newsmen attending his press conference told him about the cash distributed by his party leaders to newsmen in Satna to ensure good coverage of his yatra. Feigning ignorance, Advani said he would ask the state BJP chief to take necessary action and abruptly ended the media conference.

These two events in two successive days have naturally taken the wind out of Advani’s
yatra, which entered its fifth day today.

The BJP is too caught in a pincer, with most leaders refusing to comment on Yeddyurappa’s arrest. So, it was left to party’s Karnataka in charge Dharmendra Pradhan to tackle media queries. “Our party is committed to root out corruption. Whenever a judicial process demands, we will take action,” he said. However, when asked if the BJP will remove Yeddyurappa from the party, he said: “Why should we? The BJP has won the bypolls even after Yeddyurappa was removed as Chief Minister. That only proves that he’s a a popular leader and the people are with the
BJP.”

Thimphu, October 15
Bhutan's newly-wed Royal couple joined thousands of people today, singing, dancing and graciously accepting their greetings as celebrations continued to mark their fairytale wedding at a reception hosted by the Royal Army, an event where Rahul Gandhi was the special guest. He was accompanied by Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

King Jigme Khesar Nagyel Wangchuck, who wed commoner Jetsun Pema two days back also reassured the 7-lakh population of this tiny Himalayan Kingdom that he and his Queen would work "tirelessly" for their betterment as he expressed his "deepest gratitude" to his subjects for the love and affection they have been showering on them.

At the National Celebrations at the 30,000-capacity Chang Lime Thang Stadium, overflowing with people, the 31-year-old Oxford-educated dashing King and his 21-year-old bride went around, talking to them, graciously accepting gifts, planting kisses on children and letting them reciprocate. The King walked hand-in-hand with his beautiful bride and displayed his romantic side, publicly kissing her not once but thrice, thus throwing the people into a rapturous frenzy.

They went around the stadium, spoke to the guests, monks and even to foreign media, who have turned up in large numbers to cover the wedding, and thanked everyone for their wishes.

The King also unveiled a giant painting of Lord Buddha depicted in different manifestations at the stadium.

After the end of the 6-hour colourful cultural extravaganza, the Royal Couple and guests and diplomats also shook a leg as part of the tradition. — PTI

KISS OF
LOVE

Bhutan's dashing King walked hand-in-hand with his beautiful bride and turned his romantic self inside out, publicly kissing the Queen not once but thrice, throwing the people at his wedding reception into a rapturous frenzy. After they attained the throne at the centre of the over-flowing stadium, the handsome King surprised his subjects by asking whether they want to see him kiss his sweetheart of several years, whom he had met when he was just 17 during a family picnic.

Dhekiajuli (North Assam), October 15
As the Telangana cauldron simmers again, the Bodo tribe community in the North-East has revived its long-standing demand for a separate state to be carved out of Assam.

Over 50,000 people from the tribe today held a massive rally blocking the National Highway 52 in this tea town of north Assam. The rally was held under the aegis of influential All-Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) which has warned of unrelenting and intensive democratic movement till a separate state is granted to Bodo community.

Addressing the rally, ABSU president Promode Bodo said: “Our demand for statehood dates back to 1987 and we are closely watching what decision the UPA government takes after Diwali about Telangana statehood demand as promised by Sonia Gandhi. If creation of a Telangana state is approved by the Centre, there is no reason for not granting a separate state to the Bodo tribe in Assam. There will be no rest till our demand is not met. We are prepared for a prolonged phase of peaceful mass movement.”

He said the UPA government should start dialogue for Bodoland. “Any isolated decision on creation of a new state in any part of the country, including Telangana region will not be tolerated. There must be a comprehensive policy for formation of new states,” demanded the ABSU chief.

“The Centre has taken the Telangana stir more seriously after the agitation there. The ABSU will be compelled to resort to non-violent movement and call for even 1,000-hour bandh if the Union Government continues to ignore Bodo statehood demand. The Government of India created three new states in 2000 and if Telangana is created, why not Bodoland?” he asked.

The Bodo tribe, which has a population of about 20 lakh in Assam, is demanding a separate state in the area for being the single largest ethnic group inhabiting that stretch of Assam. ABSU leaders said the community had been disillusioned with the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) which was granted in 2003 as per Bodo peace Accord, for its failure to spur overall development of the tribe.

Lucknow, October 15
Politics over development in Bundelkhand warmed up today when the PWD Department hinted at Congress’ role in the collapse of an under-construction bridge on Banda bypass. The bridge over Kariya Nullah, being built at the cost of Rs 1.96 crore, had partially collapsed hours after a Congress team visited it on October 12.

UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi along with Congress Banda MLA Vivek Singh had taken AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi to the bridge to demonstrate the substandard quality of construction.

The FIR officially lodged in Banda by an assistant engineer of the PWD against unknown persons for tampering with the support of the shuttering causing the collapse does not mention anyone.

However, the official press release issued by the PDW spokesperson states: “It appears that some elements have purposely tampered with the shuttering of the under-construction bridge with the intention of defaming the state government.”

According to the spokesperson, the footage of the collapse of the bridge being shown by TV channels shows AICC general secretary, UPCC president and Banda MLA inspecting the under construction bridge.

“There appears to be a well-thought-out strategy behind this conspiracy. What was the reason of compromising Rahul Gandhi’s security by taking him to inspect an under construction bridge?” questions the state PWD department press release.

Categorically naming Banda MLA and UPCC chief, the spokesperson said that after the police investigation if it was found that they had disrupted the government’s work then action would be taken against them as prescribed by law. Banda Assistant Superintendent of Police RK Pandey denied any FIR being filed against Congress leaders in the bridge collapse case and refused to comment on the PWD spokesperson’s charges.

Meanwhile, Banda MLA Singh expressed surprise over the Congress being implicated in the case.

PWD Dept’s stand

lThe under-construction bridge over Kariya Nullah on Banda bypass partially collapsed hours after a Congress team visited it on October 12

Itanagar, October 15
To end the ongoing political turmoil in Arunachal Pradesh over the change of leadership in the state, Chief Minister Jarbom Gamlin and dissident leader Nabam Tuki today authorised Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to take the final call on the issue.

While Gandhi summoned Gamlin to New Delhi yesterday, APCC President Tuki has been camping in the national capital for the past few months along with other ministers and MLAs to pressurise the Congress leadership for a change in the leadership in the state. Many Nyishi organisations in the state also demanded Gamlin's resignation. —
PTI

Hyderabad, October 15
Be it a home maker, industrialist, street vendor or a student, every section of the society is feeling the heat of the indefinite general strike in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh in support of the statehood cause.

With over four lakh government employees and workers across Telangana, covering nine districts and the state Capital, staying away from duties for the last one month, the administration has virtually crippled, affecting the delivery mechanism of welfare schemes.

The 11 lakh farmers in the region are the worst sufferers as their crops are withering away due to power crisis triggered by the strike by workers of Singareni Collieries coal fields, the lifeline of the thermal plants in the state. The work at the revenue and municipal offices, which have the maximum interface with common public, has come to a standstill.

Normal life remains paralysed with over 10,000 state-run AP Road Transport Corporation buses being off the roads in Telangana, causing severe hardship to the public. The APSRTC has so far incurred a loss of Rs 150 crore on account of the ongoing strike, its Managing Director Prasada Rao said.

The students and parents are worried over possible loss of an academic year due to prolonged agitation. The members of the parents’ associations of twin cities met Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy here today and pleaded for urgent steps to see that the schools and colleges in the region were re-opened.

“We have requested the Chief Minister to issue an order exempting educational institutions from the purview of strikes and bandhs. We urge Telangana agitators not to jeopardise the future of students for the sake of a political cause,” a member of the association said after meeting the Chief Minister.

On his part, the Chief Minister assured that adequate police protection would be provided to the educational institutions and warned the agitators against disrupting their functioning.

The thermal power generation has nose-dived following the strike by coalmine workers. Apart from the present domestic power cuts, ranging from four hours to ten hours, the government imposed a three-day power holiday for industries from today.

The gap between power demand and supply has widened to 50 million units (MU) per day with the demand touching a peak of 275 MU. The state-run Power Transmission Corporation is finding it difficult to ensure seven-hour power supply to the agriculture sector. The thermal

power generation at AP Power Generation Corporation's units in the state has now fallen to less than 3,000 MW as against the installed capacity of 5,093 MW.

The National Thermal Power Corporation's unit at Ramagundam in Telangana region has been forced to shut down one of its units, resulting in a loss of 500 MW. This has affected power supply to neighbouring states as well.

“This is a crisis situation. Even if we want to buy power from the open market, it is not readily available. Our main concern is to ensure that required power is supplied to the agriculture sector and save the standing crops,” the Chief Minister said.

Despite appeals from various sections for calling off the agitation, the Telangana Joint Action Commission (TJAC) refused to budge and made it clear that the stir would continue till the UPA government conceded the demand for separate state.

“Be prepared for some dramatic actions from us. We will bring everything to a grinding halt in Hyderabad on the lines of Egypt’s revolution,” senior Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) legislator T Harish Rao warned.

According to senior vice-president of the Federation of AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) Devendra Surana, the industry was incurring a loss of about Rs 250 crore a day due to the strike.

Hit by strike

l
Over four lakh government employees across Telangana haven’t attended office for the past one month.

l Eleven lakh farmers in the region suffering as their crops are withering away due to power crisis triggered by the strike of workers of Singareni Collieries coal fields, the lifeline of the thermal plants in the state.

l Over 10,000 state-run AP Road Transport Corporation buses are off the roads, causing severe hardship to the public.

l Students and parents are worried over possible loss of an academic year due to prolonged agitation.

New Delhi, October 15
India has planned a major expansion of its security footprint in the islands that dot the Indian Ocean. New Delhi has rolled out a long-term plan, sources said while adding that this would include setting up of a chain of radars in Maldives and Seychelles while work is already on a similar project in Mauritius.

These radars will transmit real-time data via satellites to Indian monitoring stations of the Navy and Coast Guard to present a seamless radar picture. The radars will be in synchronisation with the data flow from radars along the Indian coastline.

Besides this, India is manufacturing off-shore patrol vessels that will given to these islands.

Defence Minister AK Antony told the top brass of the Navy during a closed-door conference that “India is to be the net security provider to island nations in the Indian Ocean”.

Sources said the proposal to have coastal radars in the islands, where India has a high level of cooperation, has been cleared by the government. In the long run, it will firm up India’s presence in the ocean where China is moving very fast with sops and doles to island nations.

The quality of radars in these countries will be the same as the ones being set up along the Indian coastline. The contract for setting up 47 radars along the Indian coast at a cost of 602 crore was signed last month between the Coast Guard and the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

Sources said the radars in Maldives would cover the crucial “9 degree” channel at sea. The channel is a 200 km-wide busy shipping lane south-west of the Lakshadweep islands. Huge ships carrying oil and gas worth billions of dollars pass through this lane. The radar will be so located that southern part of the Bay of Bengal and the sea route between Sri Lanka and the Andaman islands can also be watched.

The basing of radars in Maldives is crucial as China has long-term plans. Indian security sources believe that ever since Maldives leased its Marao Island to China in 1999 for maritime traffic management, the island is also being used by the Chinese to monitor Indian and US-NATO warships in the Indian Ocean.

Pune, October 15
Social activist Anna Hazare will observe a week-long ‘maun vrat’ (fasting into silence) from October 17 at his native Ralegan Siddhi village for "peace of soul", a close aide of the Gandhian said here today.

"Anna has been continuously interacting with people after ending his 12-day-fast for a strong Lokpal Bill in Delhi in August and this has put a lot of strain on him... He need some respite from this... He will observe a week-long ‘maun vrat’ for ‘atmashanti’,” India against Corruption activist Shyam Asava said. "Even otherwise, he observes 'maun vrat' periodically in his spiritual pursuit," he added.

The vow of silence came close on the heels of the recent attack and controversy involving key Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan, who had advocated plebiscite in Kashmir. Hazare subsequently distanced himself from Bhushan's statement saying he did not agree with it and that it was the lawyer-activist’s personal view.

Meanwhile, the Congress declined to comment on Anna Hazare's decision to go on ‘maun vrat’ but asked if other members of his team also will follow suit.

“There is no need to comment. But people can ask if it (silence) will also apply to other members of Team Anna,” Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said. —
Agencies

New Delhi, October 15
Rejecting former Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi’s plea, the Supreme Court has endorsed the “strictures” passed against him by the Bombay High Court for his involvement in a land scam in Pune when he was heading the state government from March 1995 to January 1999.

A Bench comprising Justices RV Raveendran and HL Gokhale also slapped an additional cost of Rs 15,000 on Joshi, besides the Rs 10,000 imposed on him by the high court in March 1999. As the CM, the Shiv Sena leader was also holding the Urban Development Department (UDD) portfolio.

Joshi, who is now a member of the Rajya Sabha, has also been Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Union Heavy Industries Minister when the NDA was in power at the Centre from 1999-2004.

The high court had passed the strictures for his role in the de-notification of a 3,450 sq metre plot of land reserved for the construction of a primary school, which was dereserved to favour a company owned by Joshi’s son-in-law Girish Vyas, for constructing a housing complex. The matter had snowballed into a major political issue in 1998, forcing Joshi to step down.

In the 148-page judgment, the apex court Bench also passed a similar order against the then Minister of State for UDD Ravindra Mane. The strictures passed against both Joshi and Mane “are maintained. The prayer to expunge these remarks is rejected,” the Supreme Court judges ruled. The Bench, however, deleted the remarks against the then Municipal Commissioner Ram Nath Jha.

Granting some relief to Joshi and Vyas, the SC quashed the high court order for a criminal investigation against them. The Bench did this citing some earlier judgment of the court.

The Supreme Court also upheld the high court direction for demolition of the concerned building, observing that it was “fully legal and unjustified.”

The Bench ruled further that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) would not be required to pay any amount to the developer for the tenants’ building constructed by him, nor for the 10-storey building in the event he gave up his claim over it in favour of the PMC.

The Maharashtra Government and Planning authorities under the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (Prevention) Act “shall hereafter scrupulously follow the directions and suggested safeguards with respect to the spaces meant for public amenities,” the SC directed in the verdict delivered on October 12. Justice Gokhale has authored it for the Bench.

Ahmedabad, October 15
Gujarat High Court has restrained the police till Monday from arresting a lawyer who had prepared an affidavit in the Sanjiv Bhatt case.Advocate VH Kanara had prepared the affidavit of Constable KD Pant, in which the latter alleged that Bhatt made him sign by force. Bhatt has been arrested in the case and is in jail after Pant had filed an FIR against him.

“The police were putting pressure on Kanara to give a statement against state Congress president Arjun Modhvadia in the case and they wanted him to say that apart from Bhatt, the Congress president was also involved in preparing the affidavit,” Mangukia said. —
PTI

New Delhi, October 14
Faced with a rapidly growing Chinese aggressiveness in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi will increase the manpower strength of its Navy by 15 per cent in the next few years. At present, the Navy has strength of 58,000, including 8,000 officers.

Sources, while confirming this, said the move was aimed at catching up with the shortage of personnel that plagues the Navy which now has a wider role, besides a rapidly expanding fleet with new ships, submarines and aircrafts. All this would need more hands to operate.

The Navy has been increasing its manpower at the rate of 1 per cent in the recent past. One of the reasons for force accretions is the rapid modernisation of the Navy. Sea-borne aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov is to join the existing INS Viraat by 2012. Another aircraft carrier INS Vikrant is expected by 2016. The Navy, so far has been mandated to be two-carrier force and the oldest INS Viraat will be decommissioned. A number of new ‘Talwar-class’ warships that includes stealth frigates along with the ‘Kolkatta-class’ warships will be added to the Navy. A series of conventional submarines the Scorpenes will be inducted. At least two nuclear submarines are set to join the force in the next couple of years.

The first nuclear-powered submarine, the Akula class Nerpa, leased from Russia for ten years will join the Navy in the next few months. Newer maritime surveillance planes, the P8-I Poseidon, and a squadron of the ship-deck based MiG-29 fighter aircraft is slated to join the force in the next few years, Navy sources said here today.

In total, there are 34 ships and submarines that are under construction at different shipyards in India itself. Apart from this, new fleet tankers, UAV’s, Radars and missiles are being added.

Issues related to manpower requirements came up for discussion during the Naval Commanders conference, which concluded here today. Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said, “The primary challenge that is confronting the Navy is to balance its resources and building human capital and a requisite strategy so as to be responsive to the full spectrum of operations.”

The Naval commanders have been asked to maintain focus on development of operational and technical infrastructure, as the force levels increase. Top priority has been accorded to developing infrastructure at Karwar (south of Goa) and three locations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. At present, there is base at Port Blair. The Navy will develop infrastructure at Diglipur, Campbell Bay and
Kamarta.

IN THE PIPELINE

l
Navy to increase its strength by 15 per cent in the next few years. At present, the Navy has strength of 58,000, including 8,000 officers

New Delhi, October 15
The Supreme Court has directed the Home Department and the Director General of Police in every state and Union Territory to have a juvenile or child welfare officer in each police station to handle crime cases involving minors.

The apex court, which is monitoring the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, has already directed the states and UTs to constitute Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees.

“We think that we must now monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Act relating to special juvenile police Units,” a Bench comprising Justices RV Raveendran and AK Patnaik observed before issuing the fresh directive.

At least one police officer in every police station with aptitude for the job should be given appropriate training and orientation for being designated as a child welfare officer, the Bench said in the order passed on October 12.

The required training would be provided by District Legal Services authorities in phases over a period of six months to one year. The SC also directed the Home Departments and DGPs to create state-level special juvenile police units to ensure better treatment to juveniles and children as prescribed under the Act.

The states and the UTs have been asked to file status reports before the next hearing in January 2012.

New Delhi, October 15
Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Saturday termed the foiled terror plot
to bomb Delhi during Diwali, unearthed with the seizure of five kg
explosives in Ambala two days ago, as the "tip of the iceberg"
and called for vigil due to the prevailing "sensitive and
delicate" security situation.

"Ambala incident is a tip of iceberg. The present situation is very sensitive and delicate, and we have to be alert 24/7 along both the land border and coastline," Antony told reporters after inaugurating the sixth job fair for retired Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel here.

He was responding to queries if the armed forces were on an alert following the unearthing of the explosives in a car at the Ambala Cantonment railway station parking lot, which is close to an important army and air force base, ahead of Diwali festival.

To another question, Antony said the incident is "very serious" and that a probe was going on into it.

"Very soon, the reports will come and then we will take action," he said.

Following the explosives seizure, a nation wide security alert has been sounded, particularly in metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, and major cities such as Bangalore and Hyderabad.

On the alleged scam in the defence ministry's Directorate General of Resettlement (DGR), Antony said action would be initiated soon after reports of the investigation into the allegations by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) are received.

The defence ministry had last month handed over the probe into the allegations of a scam involving security agencies run by ex-servicemen, under a DGR scheme for retired personnel. to the SFIO under the corporate affairs ministry.

"As soon as we get the reports, we will take action. We will not spare anybody," he said.

Earlier,
at the job fair, Antony urged the armed forces to maintain strong vigil
along the borders, as the country was in a "sensitive and
dangerous" neighbourhood. .He also released a pension handbook for
retired men and women. — IANS

Agencies PROBE PAK ANGLE

Security
agencies are probing whether the explosives seized in Ambala was sent to
India from Pakistan by fugitive Jagtar Singh Tara of Khalistan Tiger
Force, sources said on Saturday. Tara, convicted in Beant Singh
assassination case and escaped from Burail jail a few years back, could
be behind the fresh efforts to target Delhi or Punjab, they said. A
joint team of Delhi and Haryana police found explosives in a blue Indica
car parked outside the railway station earlier this week following an
intelligence tip-off that a consignment carrying the substance was
headed to a north Indian metropolis. — PTI

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 15
A Supreme Court-appointed panel to evaluate and catalogue huge treasures found in the vaults of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple will start its work from November 9.“We plan to start the documentation from November 9,” National Museum Director General C V Ananda Bose, who heads the five-member panel, said here today after a meeting with experts’ and inventory panels, constituted by the apex court.

There are some aspects like sourcing high-tech equipments required for evaluation and cataloguing the assets which are yet to be finalised and the two committees will meet again on November 4 to review the preparations, officials said.

The expert committee, set up in August, comprises one representative each from RBI, Archaeological Survey of India, the state government, the temple administration and a nominee of the Travancore royal family.

It was formed in the wake of the inventory panel earlier coming across a glittering array of gold, precious stones, rare idols, jewellery, piles of coins and trinkets stashed away in underground vaults in the sprawling temple complex, managed by a trust run by Travancore royal family, erstwhile rulers of south Kerala. —
PTI

New Delhi, October 15
In a first action of its kind since the new regulations on telemarketing calls came into force last month, mobile phone operator Vodafone has penalised telemarketing companies for making unsolicited calls to its subscribers. The telecom operators has also deposited a sum of Rs 50,000 with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which it had collected as fine from the pesky call makers.

A statement issued by the telecom sector regulator said, “TRAI is monitoring and enforcing the regulations for protection of customers from unsolicited commercial calls and SMSes. In this regard, Vodafone penalised the first batch of telemarketers by deducting the penalty from their security deposits on October 12. Vodafone, the service provider, has deposited Rs 50,000 with TRAI in compliance with the regulations”. On September 27, the TRAI enforced the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations whereby the violators could be penalised up to Rs 2.5 lakh, while habitual offenders would be blacklisted.

Under the new regulations, mobile phone users can opt for either the fully blocked category or the partially blocked category where they would receive commercial SMS as per their choice.

In a bid to curb companies, TRAI has also restricted sending of commercial SMS to just 100 SMS per day. However, dealers of telecom service providers and DTH operators, e-ticketing agencies, social networking sites and agencies providing directory services have been exempted.

Imphal/Agartala, October 15
Opposition parties Friday demanded imposition of President's Rule in Manipur where a 75-day-long highway blockade has made the prices of essentials shoot up two to four times.

Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh had gone to New Delhi on Thursday to discuss the blockade impasse with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

"The chief minister, before leaving for New Delhi, urged the agitators to withdraw the blockade that began on August 1. But the Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) refused to call off the blockade reiterating their demand that the district should be created first," a government official told reporters in Imphal.

The SHDDC began the indefinite road blockade agitation on the two crucial national highways, which link the northeastern state with the rest of the country, demanding the upgrading Sadar Hills sub-division in the Naga-dominated Senapati district in northern Manipur into a full-fledged district.

The United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of Nagas in Manipur, has also been organising a counter road blockade in all Naga-inhabited areas in northern Manipur, demanding that these areas should not be carved out without their consent.

Manipuris living in Tripura and Assam have also demanded the lifting of the blockade.

The main opposition Manipur People’s Party
(MPP), the BJP and several other parties reiterated their demand for President's Rule in Manipur to normalise the situation.

The parties have been organising sit-ins in Manipur capital Imphal, demanding immediate withdrawal of the economic blockade.

"Party leaders met Governor Gurbachan Jagat several times seeking his intervention to get the blockade lifted in view of the suffering of people. But the governor failed to give a positive response. He has remained silent on the crucial situation," MPP president Nimaichand Luwang said.

The BJP has sent a letter to the Prime Minister and union home minister to dismiss the Congress-led government in Manipur to end the unprecedented distress of people in the state.

Political parties and civil society organisations have also accused the central government of not doing much to help open the national highways to restore supplies of food grain and essentials from outside.

Manipur depends on supplies from outside and trucks carrying essentials and other goods from the rest of India use the national highways (NH 53, NH 37 NH 39) passing through Nagaland and Assam.

Blockade supporters have since also torched at least 30 Imphal-bound trucks, including two carrying medicines, at Nungkao village in the hill district of Tamenlong, 215 km west of Imphal, a food department official said.

The torched vehicles were part of a convoy of about 1,000 trucks, which were being escorted by Manipur State Rifles troopers from Jiribam to Imphal.

Government spokesman and minister N. Biren Singh has admitted that the blockades have created a severe shortage of essential commodities, including diesel and petrol.

People have to wait in long queues in front of petrol pumps, sometimes for an entire day, to buy a few litres of fuel.

Currently, a kg of potato costs Rs 40 to Rs 50 in the market while a kilogram of onions is Rs 60 to Rs 70. Prices of other essential commodities have also shot up to double, triple and four times value as the blockade of key highways continued.

Singh told reporters that the government was trying to move essentials and fuel through trucks with security escorts.

"Over 1,000 trucks loaded with essentials and oil tankers are on way to Imphal," the minister added.

Official sources said the state cabinet headed by Singh had met four to five times in the past two-and-a-half months, but no conclusive decision could be taken on the Sadar Hills issue, which has remained unresolved since 1982. —
IANS